Vol. Ch.6: To Alnus Hill

The next morning, while having a private breakfast with Princess Pina. Empress Victoria receives a note from a maid and reads it, then she turns to the princess. "Your highness, if I recall you want to mediate on negotiation with me, right?" Princess Pina almost chocks herself from the beverage, she replies, "Yes, that's why I planned to visit Alnus Hill to meet you." Thinking deeply in her mind, the empress stated, "Looks like I have arranged a visitation for you, we are going to Alnus Hill..." "Really?!" Before she can finish the princess jumps by surprise. "...and a state visit to my capital of course." With such excitement, Princess Pina can't believe Empress Victoria would invite her to visit her empire, "I am very grateful, I shall accept it then." Then she calls one of the maids, "Please call Hamilton and my two knights here."

With Hamilton, Bozes, and Panache present, the princess gives them her instruction, "I will be leaving to a state visit to her majesty's empire, so there are some occasions I want to tell you all. I will leave Hamilton to be my representative in the governor election." Hamilton is surprised, "Eh?" "Then, Panache and Bozes will be in charge of maintaining peace and order in Italica." Panache is surprised too, "Huh?" "I will go alone to Alnus..." Before she continues, Bozes rejected, "Ah! Please wait! We can't let milady to the enemy territories!" Then follow by Panache, "We will go as well!" With hesitation, Princess Pina sighed, "...Understood. Bozes, you will accomplice with me, atone for your mistake." "Yes, milady!" Meanwhile, Empress Victoria is wondering, "Maybe I need to reserve one more seat for Miss Palesti."

Waiting at the front gate of House Formal, there stood a small battalion of cavalry and the empress' personal Royal-Royce Tenuem MKII. Princess Pina and Bozes are shocked to see the car for the first time, then an officer wearing in black tunic uniform, a left shoulder cape, and a black fury hat with a silver dead skull on it. She salutes to the empress, "Colonel Trudanya Zellerin, first officer command of 2. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Königin Viktoria von Preußen Nr. 2 at your service, your majesty." "Good work Colonel, thank you for escorting us today. Let me introduce, Princess Pina Co Lada from the Sadera Empire, and Miss Bozes Co Palesti, the first command of the Rose-Order Knights." The Colonel holds her sabre which is on her wrist with her left hand, right hand to her chest and does a small bow, "It's an honour to meet you both." As the driver opens the car door, Princess Pina just swallowed and thought, "What is this iron carriage? Does it move by itself with magic?" Behind her follow by Bozes, she also insists on aboard the car, "Your highness?" The princess nods to her and carefully climbs up to the seats.

Before the empress gets into the car, Countess Formal catches up and hugs her tightly, "Please don't go, your majesty, I would miss you so much." When the empress leaves her aside, she took out something like a piece of paper with a picture on it. She hands it over to the countess and said, "This is a photograph, it captures the moments we shared and cherished into our hearts. Remember me as you look at it." Countess Formal wipes her tears away, with a smile on her face, "I will, thank you, your majesty." After all parties were boarded, "Let's go!" With Colonel Trudanya commands, she mounts on her horse and escorts the car with her battalion along with the farewell from the citizens and Countess Formal. Now they are on their way to Alus Hill.

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While on the road, the princess is almost going to throw up as this is her first experience on such fast and a bit bumpy ride, she covers her mouth with a handkerchief and tries not to puke. Soon, Bozes looks outside of the window and see a fortress station on the hill, "Your highness, we have arrived, it's Alnus Hill." "Already?" Princess Pina looks out and what she sees is not very pleasant, corps of dead wyverns half-buried on the land, huge holes with a pile of blood and dead fleshes in them. "Even though it's a sacred land, it supposed to be just hills. They re-excavated the mountain base." Then, a group of patrolling guards pass by the line. Princess Pina sees they are holding some sort of wooden "wand". With such curiosity, she asked, "Are those weapons which your soldiers used in Italica?" "Yes, they are called 'guns' or 'rifles'. They are similar to bow and arrows, but the use of gunpowder with igniting of explosion and shoot out lead rounds at the speed of sound." As the empress stated, the princess replied, "The war won't be as one-sided if we were to acquire these 'rifles'." "Umm, I afraid not." The empress said, points out of the window as Bozes spots something, "Look! Your highness! What creatures are those?"

Look from there, dozens of iron beasts storming on the hills with long and short noses, Princess Pina watches in fear, "In god's name are those iron elephants?!" Then Empress Victoria explained, "They are tanks, they use to support infantries to advance through the battlefield. You will see those in our base so you will have an opportunity to look at them up close." She finds out that the princess is a bit shocked, "Do they bite?" She asked and the empress giggles, "No they don't trust me." Then, a creature with iron wings flies overhead of them, Bozes asked, "Are those iron wyverns or giant eagles?" "They are called biplanes with four wings, you can call them as iron wyverns." Later, the princess is thinking something, "Those beasts are humongous, they are totally like from another world. Why do the empire attack them in the first place?" As the fortress closing by, they arrive and bypass the gate.